One-Two For Daiwa Major In New Zealand Trophy

Pensioned Shadai Stallion Station resident Daiwa Major (Jpn) sired the first two home in the G2 New Zealand Trophy S. over 1600 metres at Nakayama on Saturday, with Ecoro Bloom (Jpn) edging filly Bond Girl (Jpn) by three-quarters of a length. Both the first and second were bred by Northern Farm.

Sent off at 37-10, Ecoro Bloom soon cruised up to sit in third behind Yukino Royal (Jpn) (Dee Majesty {Jpn}) and Clean Air (Jpn) (Real Impact {Jpn}) before drifting back a bit to the fence while saving ground. Full of run with 600 metres left, he ranged up to within a length of the leaders, but was forced to alter course in early stretch as a hole closed. A gap opened a few strides later and Takeshi Yokoyama directed the colt through, before the duo kicked past a stubborn Yukino Royal, who lost the battle for second with Bond Girl by a head.

Third on debut over soft ground going this trip at Tokyo in October, the chestnut claimed a similar affair at that course over a firm surface in November. Making his 2024 bow, Ecoro Bloom was a close second in the G3 Nikkan Sports Sho Shinzan Kinen at Kyoto on Jan. 8.

Pedigree Notes

The winner is the 47th stakes winner for his sire, who was pensioned after breeding a handful of mares in 2023.

American threads run through the dams of both Ecoro Bloom and Bond Girl, as the former's dam, Sugar Shock, a winner of the 2014 GIII Fantasy S., was picked up for $360,000 out of the Fasig-Tipton November Sale in 2015 by Katsumi Yoshida. Stakes winner Coasted (Tizway), the 2016 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf runner-up and the dam of Saturday's runner-up, was sent to Japan after making $1.3 million at that same sale two years later, also on the bid of Yoshida.

At stud, Sugar Shock delivered the winning Admire Metis (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) as her first foal. Four more winners followed, including G3 Kisaragi NKH Sho hero Lagom (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) and Saturday's victor. After foaling the New Zealand Trophy hero, she produced a 2-year-old filly to the cover of dual Saturnalia (Jpn), a yearling full-brother to Lagom and she visited Kizuna (Jpn) last spring.

 

Saturday, Nakayama, Japan
NEW ZEALAND TROPHY-G2, ¥105,100,000, Nakayama, 4-6, 3yo, c/f, 1600mT, 1:34.40, gd.
1–ECORO BLOOM (JPN), 126, c, 3, Daiwa Major (Jpn)
                1st Dam: Sugar Shock (GSW-US, $475,619), by Candy Ride (Arg)
                2nd Dam: Enthusiastically, by Distorted Humor
                3rd Dam:  Unbridled Hope, by Unbridled
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. (¥84,000,000 Ylg '22
JRHAJUL). O-Masatoshi Haramura; B-Northern Farm (Jpn);
T-Yukihiro Kato; J-Takeshi Yokoyama; ¥55,120,000. Lifetime
Record: 4-2-1-1, ¥78,606,000. *1/2 to Lagom (Jpn) (Orfevre
{Jpn}), GSW-Jpn, $1,287,497. Click for the
   free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
   Rating: C+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Bond Girl (Jpn), 121, f, 3, Daiwa Major(Jpn)–Coasted, by
Tizway. (¥210,000,000 Ylg '22 JRHAJUL). O-Susumu Fujita;
B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥22,320,000.
3–Yukino Royal (Jpn), 126, c, 3, Dee Majesty (Jpn)–Yukino
Queen (Jpn), by Taiki Shuttle. 1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP
   BLACK TYPE. O-Motoyuki Inoue; B-Hattori Farm (Jpn);
¥14,160,000.
Margins: 3/4, HD, HF. Odds: 3.70, 2.20, 36.50.
Also Ran: Kazu Mikulase (Jpn), Dreaming Up (Jpn), Clean Air (Jpn), Aim For Ace (Jpn), Awesome Stroke (Jpn), Enya Love Faith (Jpn), Spark Richard (Jpn), Rouge Suerte (Jpn), Shines On You (Jpn), Satomino Kirari (Jpn), David Tesoro (Jpn), Bright Man (Jpn), Captaincy (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart & video.

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Italian Flavour To Hanshin Juvenile Fillies As Ascoli Piceno Prevails

Group winner Ascoli Piceno (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}) maintained her unbeaten record with a narrow score in the ¥125,160,000 G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies on Sunday. She also set a new stakes record of 1:32.60 for the 1600 metres in the 18-horse affair.

The Yoichi Kuroiwa trainee follows in the wake of such horses as dual Japanese Horse of the Year Vodka (Jpn) (Tanino Gimlet {Jpn}) who won this in 2006, fellow Horse of the Year Buena Vista (Jpn) (Special Week {Jpn}) (2008 edition), and 2022 scorer Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}), who claimed the 2023 Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown. Her victory was the first at the top level for her trainer, who opened his stable in 2012.

Sent off as the 9-2 third choice behind 18-5 favourite Safira (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), Ascoli Piceno perched well off the fence in midfield as 67-1 longshot Chicago Sting (Jpn) (Logotype {Jpn}) stormed to the head of affairs. The pace was strong, with the first 800 metres covered in :46.40, and 1000 metres reached in :58.20.

On the bend, the bay remained behind a wall of rivals, but a gap opened just before the 400-metre mark, and she surged through to begin her run. Chicago Sting attempted to ease clear, but Ascoli Piceno with second choice Corazon Beat (Jpn) (Suave Richard {Jpn}) to her outside were both flashing home with good speed down the centre of the course. Stellenbosch (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) was also picking up close home, and it was that foe who pressed Ascoli Piceno all the way to the line, with just a neck separating them. Corazon Beat, who could not match the finishing kick of the top pair, was third, another 1 1/4 lengths behind and three lengths to the good of the rallying Safira. Chicago Sting held on to run a highly credible fifth.

“The stable staff did a great job and she was in very good condition, so I had every confidence in her,” said Kitamura, who was winning his fourth Group 1 and first since Kitasan Black (Jpn) (Black Tide {Jpn})'s 2015 G1 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger). “The filly broke better than in her previous start, was relaxed during the race and responded well in the stretch. I was a bit worried for a second that we were going to get caught, but she gave her all, all the way to the line.”

A winner of a 2-year-old newcomers' affair at Tokyo over 1400 metres in June, the Sunday Racing runner won the G3 Niigata Nisai S. upped to 1600 metres against males just over two months later in August. The Hanshin Juvenile Fillies was her first appearance in over three months.

Pedigree Notes

The winner is the ninth Group 1 scorer for her sire, who stands at Shadai Stallion Station, Ascoli Piceno is part of a 46-strong battalion of stakes winners worldwide for the 22-year-old son of Sunday Silence. The late Danehill Dancer has now been represented by 19 top level winners out of his daughters among his 166 black-type winners on an international scale.

The near-black filly is one of four winners from four to race for her winning dam, and she is also a half-sister to the Listed Marguerite S. heroine Ascoltare (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}). After Ascoli Piceno, Ascolti foaled a colt by Satono Diamond (Jpn) in 2022 and a filly by Kitasan Black (Jpn) this year.

Second dam Listen (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) won the G1 Meon Valley Stud Fillies' Mile and ran second in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. Besides Ascolti, she produced the listed winner and Japanese St Leger runner-up Satono Lux (Jpn) to the cover of Deep Impact (Jpn), as well as that colt's full-sister, the group winner Touching Speech (Jpn). Listen is a full-sister to Sequoyah (Ire), who won the Moyglare, and is also the dam of the high class Henrythenavigator (Kingmambo), who won both the G1 2000 Guineas, the Irish equivalent and the G1 St James's Palace S.; and his full-sister, the G3 One Thousand Guineas Trial S. heroine queen Cleopatra (Ire), who was third in both the G1 Prix de Diane and G1 Irish 1000 Guineas.

 

Sunday, Hanshin, Japan
HANSHIN JUVENILE FILLIES-G1, ¥125,160,000, Hanshin, 12-10, 2yo, f, 1600mT, 1:32.60, fm.
1–ASCOLI PICENO (JPN), 121, f, 2, by Daiwa Major (Jpn)
                1st Dam: Ascolti (Jpn), by Danehill Dancer (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Listen (Ire), by Sadler's Wells
                3rd Dam: Brigid, by Irish River (Fr)
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Sunday Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn);
T-Yoichi Kuroiwa; J-Hiroshi Kitamura; ¥66,302,000. Lifetime
Record: 3-3-0-0, ¥104,936,000. *1/2 to Ascoltare (Jpn)
(Duramente {Jpn}), SW-Jpn, $422,446. Click for the
   free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
   Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Stellenbosch (Jpn), 121, f, 2, Epiphaneia (Jpn)–Bloukrans
(Jpn), by Rulership (Jpn). 1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP BLACK
   TYPE. 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O-Katsumi Yoshida;
B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥26,372,000.
3–Corazon Beat (Jpn), 121, f, 2, Suave Richard (Jpn)–Le Ciel
d'Or (Jpn), by Orfevre (Jpn). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE.
O-Thoroughbred Club Ruffian; B-Big Red Farm (Jpn);
¥16,186,000.
Margins: NK, 1 1/4, 3. Odds: 4.90, 7.70, 3.80.
Also Ran: Safira (Jpn), Chicago Sting (Jpn), Lucifer (Jpn), Sweep Feet (Jpn), Dona Betty (Jpn), Cosmo Dinner (Jpn), Catfight (Jpn), Teleos Lulu (Jpn), Nanao (Jpn), Quick Bio (Jpn), Spring Nova (Jpn), Psipsina (Jpn), Culture Day (Jpn), New General (Jpn), Mirai Tailor (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart & video.

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Royal Oak Glory For Daiwa Major’s Double Major

There was a chance beforehand that the Wertheimers' 3-year-old Double Major (Ire) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}–Dancequest {Ire}, by Dansili {GB}) had an edge over his elders in Sunday's G1 Prix Royal-Oak at ParisLongchamp, but few would have imagined how great his advantage was as he outclassed them with a vintage display. Always happy at the head of affairs under Maxime Guyon, the Christophe Ferland-trained homebred started to draw clear from the top of the straight and despite wandering around in the clear was so far in front inside the last 100 metres that he was able to be eased for a 7 1/2-length success. Skazino (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}) was next best behind the 100-30 favourite, with Tashkhan (Ire) (Born To Sea {Ire}) 3/4 of a length away in third.

“We are very happy and the big question was the ground, because he has never run on that kind of surface,” the owner-breeders' racing manager Pierre-Yves Bureau said of the gelding, who had warmed up for this by winning the track's G2 Prix Chaudenay on Arc weekend. “We knew the horse had that quality, but he was the only three-year-old facing older horses who have much more experience than him, so what he did was very nice and we are very happy. He is a gelding, so hopefully he can travel as well but we are going to enjoy what happened today because it was a really nice performance.”

On a weekend when Japanese breeding and racing was proving unequivocally at the forefront internationally, this was the icing on the cake. Improving with every move up in trip, Double Major was making marked progression from his second in this track's G3 Prix Gerald de Geoffre in August when upstaging Moyglare Stud's equally exciting 3-year-old Harbour Wind (Ire) (Nathaniel {Ire}) in the Chaudenay. This race has been known as the “French St Leger” and with that in mind Double Major's win represents a double for sons of Sunday Silence, as Heart's Cry's Continuous (Jpn) had taken the season's St Leger at Doncaster.

Pedigree Notes
Double Major's listed-placed dam Dancequest is also responsible for the G3 Prix de Guiche winner and G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano and G2 Prix Eugene Adam-placed Flop Shot (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}), as well as the listed-placed Veritas (Ire) (Camelot {GB}). She is kin to the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud heroone Plumania (GB) (Anabaa) and the G2 Prix de Royallieu scorer Balladeuse (Fr) (Singspiel {Ire}), who each proved leading producers for the operation. Balladeuse was responsible for the G1 Prix Vermeille winner Left Hand (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and this year's TDN Rising Star Aventure (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) who was runner-up in the recent G3 Prix des Reservoirs, while Plumania's quartet of black-type performers are headed by the G2 Prix du Muguet scorer Plumatic (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and she is also the second dam of the G1 Prix Saint Alary-placed Solsticia (Ire) (Le Havre {Ire}).

Others to feature in this illustrious dynasty are the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains-winning sire Falco, the G1 Prix Lupin hero and leading sire Groom Dancer, fellow sires Slew The Slewor and Tagel and the G1 Prix Vermeille-winning champion Indian Rose (Fr), the G1 Prix Ganay hero Vert Amande (Fr) and the G1 Grand Prix de Paris victor Le Nain Jaune (Fr). There is also a Japanese champion sprinter and miler in Kinshasa No Kiseki (Aus) (Fuji Kiseki {Jpn}). Dancequest's unraced 2-year-old filly by Lope De Vega (Ire) is named Tyra (GB), while she also has a yearling filly by Dubawi (Ire) named Rooba (Ire) and a colt foal also by Lope De Vega named Vegetarien (Ire).

Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
PRIX ROYAL-OAK-G1, €350,000, ParisLongchamp, 10-29, 3yo/up, 15 1/2fT, 3:35.89, hy.
1–DOUBLE MAJOR (IRE), 128, g, 3, by Daiwa Major (Jpn)
     1st Dam: Dancequest (Ire) (SP-Fr), by Dansili (GB)
     2nd Dam: Featherquest (GB), by Rainbow Quest
     3rd Dam: Featherhill (Fr), by Lyphard
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O/B-Wertheimer et Frere (IRE); T-Christophe Ferland; J-Maxime Guyon. €199,990. Lifetime Record: 9-4-4-0, €385,690. *1/2 to Flop Shot (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}), GSW-Fr, $264,611; & to Veritas (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), SP-Fr. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Skazino (Fr), 130, g, 7, Kendargent (Fr)–Skallet (Fr), by Muhaymin. (€22,000 Ylg '17 ARQOCT; €150,000 RNA HRA '19 ARQARC). O-Gousserie Racing; B-Guy Pariente Holding (FR); T-Patrice Cottier. €80,010.
3–Tashkhan (Ire), 130, g, 5, Born To Sea (Ire)–Tarziyna (Ire), by Raven's Pass. (€11,000 2yo '20 GOFAUT). O-Mr P Boyle; B-His Highness the Aga Khan's Studs SC (IRE); T-Brian Ellison. €40,005.
Margins: 7HF, 3/4, 2HF. Odds: 3.30, 11.00, 5.70.
Also Ran: Al Nayyir (GB), Diva Donna (Fr), Galego Star (Fr), Metier (Ire), Novel Legend (Ire), Bubble Gift (Fr), Haya Zark (Fr), The Good Man (Fr). Video, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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ParisLongchamp: Double Major Takes Aim at the Royal-Oak

With Europe's leading stayers either having taken part in Champions Day or roughed off for the season, Sunday's G1 Prix Royal-Oak at ParisLongchamp has a wide-open feel with only the Wertheimers' Double Major (Ire) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}) holding any kind of mystique. Successful in the track's G2 Prix Chaudenay on Arc weekend, the Christophe Ferland-trained 3-year-old has considerable upside taking on established  marathon specialists in a race that has seen his age group prevail in five of the last eight renewals and three of the last four.

With the likes of the G2 Prix Maurice de Nieuil winner The Good Man (Fr) (Manduro {Ger}), the Cesarewitch H. third Tashkhan (Ire) (Born To Sea {Ire}) and dual listed winner Al Nayyir (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), Double Major will have to be every bit as progressive as he looked earlier this month, but as a relative of the likes of Plumania (GB) (Anabaa) and Left Hand (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) the pedigree gives him a big leg-up.

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